ELMIRA, N.Y. - The Hilbert College Women's Basketball team, who struggled to get back to Hamburg after the long weekend storm, found themselves digging out of another bad situation tonight at Elmira  College.
 
The Hawks, down by 17 early, outscored the Soaring Eagles 31-22 before the start of the fourth quarter but ran out of gas the final five minutes of the non-conference 59-44 defeat.
 
HIGHT LIGHTS

Grace Zabawa came off the bench and gave the Hawks a big lift, leading them with 13 points, three assists and a pair of steals and rebounds.   Alesia Hamm added 11 points, shooting 50-percent from the field while dishing three assists and Katie Kociszewski produced a career-high 10 rebounds today in 24 minutes of action.  Macy Kisner tossed in eight points while clearing the glass for 10 boards.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Elmira was in total control the first ten minutes.  They built a 21-3 lead by the end of the quarter fueled by strong shooting, offensive rebounds which turned into second chance points, and sound defense which took the Hawks out of any offensive flow. 
• Grace Zabawa hit the Hawks' first field goal two minutes into the second quarter and Macy Kisner followed immediately with fast-break layup.  Kisner missed the and-1 on her next bucket but that energy swung the momentum in the Hawks favor as they played even the rest of the quarter.  Alesia Hamm knocked down a 3-pointer, Ashley Schroeder hit a jumper and went 2 for 2 at the foul line and Zabawa found room again in the paint to inch the Hawks closer.
• Down, 35-18 at the start of the third quarter, Hilbert rebounded and made it a ten-point game less than five minutes later.  Hamm started the run, Schroeder connected deep, Chloe Champagne hit a bunny in the paint before Hamm finished a three-point play, setting the 39-29 spread.  Zabawa struck again hitting 3-pointer this time, as Hilbert's turn-around in production caught the Soaring Eagles off guard and forced them to rush.  Zabawa made a hard cut through the lane and Schroeder found her on the block for two more but Elmira tossed one more in just before the end of the 3rd quarter, taking a 43-32 lead.
• Kinser's two at the charity stripe made it a 40-47 score and Zabawa's driving layup pulled the Hawks within five.   During that offensive stretch, Hilbert's interior defense played smart and pushed Elmira further away from the hoop.  After Elmira struck again beyond the arc, Kisner's make in the paint turned out to be Hilbert's final score in the game, falling 59-44.

GAME NOTES 

• Hilbert committed 12 of the team's 31 turnovers in ten minutes  and went 0-7 from the floor as the Hawks went 11-players deep in the first quarter.
• Hilbert, trailing 21-3 woke up and rallied to a 35-18 half time score before pulling within 41-34 score before the final quarter.
• Hilbert built a 49-37 advantage on the glass, but gave up 16 offensive rebounds which led to 16 second chance points for Elmira.

 UP NEXT

The Hawks (0-5) have a week off from competition before they host Medaille University in a non-conference contest Tuesday, November 29 at 7:30pm.